New York, NY (Sportsbooks) - Manny Harris scored 15 points, hit two big free throws in the waning seconds and blocked the potential tying shot at the end as Michigan upset fourth-ranked UCLA, 55-52, to reach the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
DeShawn Sims scored 18 for the Wolverines (3-0), who will take on Duke in the final Friday night. The Blue Devils beat Southern Illinois in the other semifinal. The Friday final will be a preview of a regularly-scheduled meeting on December 6.
Stu Douglass tallied 10 points for Michigan, which beat a ranked opponent on a neutral court for the first time since 1998.
"You have to be tough at this time of year, in November, because (the) timing of everything is off," said Michigan coach John Beilein. "No matter what we're doing or what UCLA is doing, timing is off and you have to be tough-minded during that time. That's been a theme of ours all year long, just be tougher both mentally and physically."
Darren Collison and Jrue Holiday each scored 13 for the Bruins (2-1), while Nikola Dragovic scored 11 in defeat.
"They made some tough shots. They shot 61 percent in the second half," said UCLA coach Ben Howland. "I thought Douglass came in and really hurt us late in the half."
Douglass' long three-pointer gave Michigan the lead at 49-48 before a Sims layup expanded the edge to 51-48 with 2 1/2 minutes left. The Wolverines could have essentially salted away the victory, but were whistled for a shot clock violation a minute later.
Josh Shipp then made 1-of-2 free throws with 56 seconds left, pulling the Bruins within two, but Sims jammed on a backdoor cut off a great bounce pass from Anthony Wright with 28.6 seconds remaining.
The Bruins then threw the ball out of bounds, but Sims missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Dragovic nailed a three-pointer with five seconds left.
Harris sank two from the line less than a second later and then blocked Collison's potential tying shot at the end.
Early on it looked as if UCLA would run away, as the Bruins built a 9-1 lead. The Wolverines got close several times in the half, only to have UCLA pull away each time, and the Bruins held a 29-23 advantage at the intermission. It remained tight throughout the final 20 minutes.
Game Notes
The Bruins had 17 turnovers...Michigan went 5-of-20 from three-point range...UCLA held a 38-25 rebounding advantage.
